Office Building Design

No longer marked by gray, uniform rows of cubicles, offices have become more personalized and employee-centric than ever, giving people a more comfortable place to spend their working hours. New approaches to office customization and the way employees interact are breathing new life into the workplace.

The explosive demand for tech office space in and around metropolitan areas has led to creative redevelopment opportunities for Building Teams. The Playa Jefferson complex in Playa Vista, Calif., remade a series of nondescript, low-rise office buildings into state-of-the-art tech space for mature and startup companies. Photo: Benny Chan Fotoworks, courtesy Gensler

The $160 million renovation of the 620,000-sf, 18-story Byron G. Rogers Federal Building and Courthouse in downtown Denver. HOK was the architect on the project, with Bennett Wagner & Grody Architects (architect of record), RMH Group (MEP), Rocky Mountain Institute (high-performance building consultant), and Mortenson Construction (design-builder). Photo: HOK

Crane installation at the 181 Fremont office/condo mixed-use project in San Francisco. Immediately adjacent to the new Transbay Transit Center and elevated park, the 70-story high-rise will become the city's second tallest building when completed in June 2016. Photo courtesy Level 10 Construction

Most of the building and buying is happening within the city’s limits.

The architects designed the tower's tapered base to be a public meeting space, "a symbol of the city’s development and as a social node that nurtures an active streetlife in the district." Renderings courtesy Morphosis Architects

A new study of nine schools in Washington D.C. corroborates recent research finding that modernization creates more satisfactory places for students and faculty. Image: Perkins Eastman, Investing in our Futures: How School Modernization Impacts Indoor Environmental Quality and Occupants.